Archive for September 2012

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Evgie and Ev are real gals with passion and expertise in digital
illustration and interior decoration. Each of them has liked drawing
very much since childhood; it became their profession!

With vinyl wall decals being the latest trend in home decor – easy to
apply, easy to remove, easy to tailor to specific wall or surface – EVGIE
offers handmade large and small vinyl stickers with designs and
ideas for kids and grown-ups rooms. They start with an idea, pencil and blank
paper and then render designs digitally for vinyl cutting. They view
walls as a background for living.

EVGIE Studio specializes in producing customized wall decals. They create personal designs that not only reflect the ideas you have in mind, but are tailored to fit into your unique space. You can send pictures of your room, wall color, bedding sets, painting, anything that inspires you and they will craft an idea that will transform your home. They'd love to hear from you at hello@evgie.com

Such beautiful designs! They are sure to bring any room to life. Today, EVGIE is offering one of our readers the chance to win a $50 gift card for anything in the store! To enter, visit EVGIE and find your favorite item. Then come back and leave us a comment with what it is. For a second entry, you can share that favorite item using the pinterest, twitter or facebook buttons on the page of your favorite item. Let us know if you did that! This giveaway will end Thursday, October 4th at 11:59pm PT.

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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Being a busy mom to three boys, sometimes it is such a struggle to fit healthy meals into my day. I don't have the time to cook a full meal at each time of day and I am constantly on the lookout for healthy meals to eat so that I can stay energized and give my body the nourishment it needs throughout the day. They have to be quick to fix!

I recently had the opportunity to try Diet-To-Go meals for a few days. Diet-to-Go is a diet delivery service and I was excited to see how they tasted and if they could fit into my busy life.

Diet-To-Go is the most inexpensive freshdiet delivery service on the market. They only deliver fresh meals (they have to be refrigerated!). That was a huge selling point to me because they are truly fresh! I was telling my husband that normally I would never sit and cook myself a bunch of veggies for breakfast or lunch, so it was so great to have meals that I could heat up in minutes and know they were healthy.

I knew the main thing for me would be taste. Everything else could pass the test, but it has to taste good or I will not be eating it. I must admit, I was a little skeptical because all I had to do was heat the meal in the microwave for a few minutes so I thought for sure taste would be compromised. It was not! Seriously. Every meal I tried was delicious!

Like this omelette...

I could eat this everyday for breakfast. It has cheese and spinach inside and it was so good. Really. Now I want one. It was probably my favorite meal.

I also tried this herbed catfish with broccoli and artichokes...

Now, keep in mind I have never had catfish in my life before! I love fish, but I usually eat salmon. I was a little nervous since I had never had it before but it was amazing. I offered a bite to my husband and he ended up eating the rest of it. No joke. Thanks a lot, hon.

I also really enjoyed the chicken fingers with squash and brussel sprouts.

I especially loved the variety that Diet-To-Go offered me. I never got bored of what I was eating and I didn't have to go to the store and shop for a million ingredients to cook up something. I just knew I had healthy, easy, quick food waiting for me at each meal.

Diet-To-Go offers 3 unique menus (low-fat, vegetarian & low-carb) and 20 plans to choose from.
There are no cancellation fees or gimmick pricing. There is no commitment or contract, and they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee! It is definitely worth a try if you are looking for a way to lose weight or even just fit healthier meals into your life.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Local Seattle SUBWAY® restaurants are tackling the serious topic of obesity with a fun contest to reward students for healthy eating and exercise habits. Today through September 27, public, private and homeschooled students in the Seattle area ages 5 to 14 with parent permission can draw a poster or create a video showing how they “Get Fit Like the Seahawks.”

Contest entries will be judged by a local panel with two grand prize winners being selected to receive a $1,000 fitness grant for their school or educational institution, a $500 SUBWAY® Card, an autographed Seahawks football, and two tickets to an upcoming home game. Three honorable mention winners will receive a $100 SUBWAY® card and two tickets to an upcoming home game.
Visit FreshFitSeattle.com for more info and entry forms. Be sure to go enter the contest if you live in the Seattle area!

Obesity rates in Washington have almost doubled in the past 15 years according to a study released by Trust for America’s Health.
The study reveals that 11.1 percent of children and adolescents in
Washington are considered obese. Obesity in children is generally caused
by a lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns or a
combination of both.

“We are excited to broaden our partnership with SUBWAY® restaurants through the FRESH FIT® Video and Poster Competition,” said Seahawks president Peter McLoughlin. “We want students to share their success stories and how leading an active lifestyle helps them to succeed.”

Today, we are giving FIVE of our U.S. readers a chance to win $10 SUBWAY® gift cards! Just leave us a comment telling us what you do to help your kids (or yourself) stay fit, be active, or eat healthy. For a second entry, post about this giveaway on Facebook and leave us another comment with a link to it. Make sure you leave a way for us to contact you if you are a winner! This giveaway will end Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at 11:59 pm PT.

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Time to announce the milk unleashed giveaway winner. The winner of a milk unleashed variety pack is...

Kristen. Jason. Sofie

who said,

"You are:Your family is kept organized with the help ofa little
friend we call technology. You’re always up to date with the latest time
management apps that keep your family on schedule. Whether you’re
Yelping a new place to grub or bidding on a hotel using Priceline...
Apps, widgets, and wifi are your best friends. You’re always crunched
for time but you and your kids love living the fast paced lifestyle. Fun
is on your itinerary, and you’re looking to check it off!"

Congrats! We have sent you an email so look for it in your inbox!

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Monday, September 17, 2012

I have been needing to replenish my birthday card stash for quite awhile now. It is amazing how fast I go through them! Luckily, EKSuccess Tools recently mailed me some of their fabulous tools so I could get to work. Because we have been having gorgeous sunny weather here in Seattle, I decided to go with bright colors on my cards. Plus, birthdays should be bright and fun celebrations, right?

They really were perfect for helping me make these cards. The awesome part about these tools is that on the packaging they have QR codes that you can scan on your smartphone to get project ideas! How clever is that! It sends you to videos that offer ideas and help for some projects using the tools. Love it.

Let me take you through this first card that I made...

First I cut my card and then used the bone folder tool to make a crease. I love this tool!It makes the perfect, even crease without ripping the paper. The other end can be used to adhere rub-ons or for smoothing. It is really so versatile and a must-have tool.

Next I wanted to make punched strips of colored paper to place all across my card. This dot border punch was so cute, I really wanted to use it to make a big impact.

I love the punches. They are so easy to use since you can line up your paper to follow the line of pattern so you know you are getting the perfect, uniform punch each time.

I punched down one side of the strip of paper, then turned it around to punch the other side. Then I lined up and glued each strip onto my card.

I used the EKSuccess Tools retractable knife to trim off the little edges that I needed to precisely cut. I love this tool because it is very safe to use and has a little compartment with blades so you can keep them contained. It also has a part to put the used blades in.

Next, I cut some rectangular card stock and used the dual tip silver marker to write a Happy Birthday sentiment on the card. These markers are such a pretty color and I love that I can add a hand written message on cards.

I added a little ribbon bow, and then attached the message to my card using the EKSuccess Tools 3-D foam dot circles. I use these all the time! I love being able to add dimension to cards by popping items up. Makes cards so fun!

Voila...a Happy Birthday card!

My second card was super simple! I covered my card in patterned paper. Then laid a strip of white card stock across it. Then I used my EKSuccess Tools 1-inch circle punch to cut circles to place on the strip. I probably use this size punch more than any other. It is the perfect size for so many things!

I alternated between patterned circles and solid and then used my 3-D foam dot circles to pop them up across the paper. Add a ribbon, a sentiment, and you have another birthday card!

Somehow, I don't think these two cards are going to last me very long! I plan on making more in the very near future, and now I have so many perfect tools to help me out.

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with EKSuccess Tools and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

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As you have probably noticed, we have brought posts to you that are part of our work as BlogFrog Influencers. It is a network of bloggers and active social media users. BlogFrog has a great community of influencers like us who write posts to share information, advice, and content with our audience.

We love being a part of BlogFrog! It is important to us to be involved in networking and influence with other writers and bloggers. We really are a community and it is great to all be part of something we love and believe in.

The great thing about BlogFrog is they really work hard to match us with brand programs that will fit with what we want to share with our audience. We can select or decline any brand programs and we really like to choose the posts that we are excited about or products we love and feel like we want to share. BlogFrog also enables us to earn money on our blog so that we can continue to fund other projects that we love to post on our own as well.

As a part of the BlogFrog Influencer Circle, I have the chance to create meaningful, authentic content for brands I love. If you’re a blogger interested in new opportunities, join BlogFrog’s Influencer Circle and check out some of the top brands already working with BlogFrog.

If you’re a brand looking to work with online influencers, learn more about BlogFrog’s Brand Solutions here. Now, I’m curious. What do you love most about blogs and blogging?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BlogFrog. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

It’s back to school time which means car pools, soccer practice, recitals and maybe a little time for mom thrown in for good measure. Having an on-the-go lifestyle can be challenging to say the least and Milk Unleashed is here to help!

With handy single-serving shelf safe milk there’s no need to ever run out! You can take it anywhere at anytime. Milk Unleashed goes wherever your family goes, whether it’s a lunchbox, a cooler, purse or a diaper bag.

Check out this fun blog app for games, tips, and ideas! Today, Milk Unleashed is giving away a free Milk Unleashed variety pack consisting of four shelf safe milks (white and chocolate) from: Hershey’s,LaLa, Horizon and Organic Valley to one of our readers*! Plus the variety pack will have a cow stress ball and information on shelf safe milk.
*Milk will be chosen by random from the previously
mention brands.

To enter to win, try out the blog app and choose one of the options below:
--share your favorite On-The-Go Games from the blog app in the comments section
--take the Family On-The-Go Quiztacular and post your results in the comments section

Good Luck! This giveaway will end Monday, September 17th at 11:59pm PT, then we will select a winner!

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My mom taught me to write thank you cards for everything. Even if she had to stand behind me and wait as I wrote out each one, I would get them out for every birthday and Christmas gift. And even now that she's not reminding me on every occasion, I still feel the need to send thank you notes. The only thing that stops me is not having a card ready to go! But Tiny Prints is out to change that.For one week only, you can get10 FREE thank you cardsfrom Tiny Prints. All you pay is shipping (as low as $3.50).These cards can be completely customized and personalized to your tastes. Choose fromthousands of designs, add pictures, change the text, the fonts, the colors. You get to make these cards uniquely you.Just use the promo code FREETHANKS when you check out and pay the shipping and Tiny Prints will send the 10 cards right away. Then...it's up to you to use them! Your mom won't even have to make you. Let's start a Thank You Revolution!Visit Tiny Prints nowto take advantage of this incredible deal by September 19, 2012.

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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

We're contributing over at Make and Takes today with a fun quote wall plaque tutorial, inspired by this little cutie's outfit. I love this on him--and not just because it shows off his fat knees. I wanted something for his new nursery featuring these gray and white stripes, so with a little painter's tape and acrylic paint, this striped wall art was born.

Pretty close, huh? And I've got the "You are getting very sleepy" quote printable in several colors for you for free! Download them free here in blue, gray, citron, and pink. Then head over to Make and Takes to see how to make this fun wall art!

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Monday, September 3, 2012

When I was at Cost Plus World Market the other day, I saw some blue corn and flax seed chips that I really wanted to try. But you know how it is. If you find a bag of chips you want to try, you know you are going to need some salsa to go with it. When you want to get some salsa to go with the chips, you end up finding two different kinds of salsa you want to try.

Then when you have that in your cart, you decide you need to come up with a dinner to go with it. So you buy a whole bunch of other items to make it happen.

Then you decide to add a few treats to that. They apparently did not make it home because they were nowhere to be found when I took some pictures. I do remember them tasting mighty delicious though.

Then get yourself ready to make a delicious dinner with all the lovely items you found at Cost Plus World Market (and eat a few chips with salsa along the way).

A trip for two to to Santa Fe, New Mexico (this is a 5 day Trip for 2 to Santa Fe which includes airfare and hotel)Hands on Southwestern Cooking class with Master ChefPersonally signed glossy cookbookMulti-course dinner at the acclaimed GeronimoSouthwestern Foodie Tour with a cultural kickA $1,000 World Market gift card

There will also be 3 runner up prize winners that will each receive a $500 World Market gift card! The Gourmet Getaway Sweepstakes runs from August 18, 2012 until September 21, 2012. Also, if you share the sweepstakes with 5 of your friends (via FB share or email) you can receive 5 additional bonus entries!